Hillel welcomes students of all backgrounds and fosters an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel. As the largest Jewish student organization in the world, Hillel builds connections with emerging adults and inspires them to direct their own Jewish journey.

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History of Hillel

Paging Through Hillel History

Founded in 1923 and adopted by B'nai B'rith in 1924, Hillel has grown into the world’s largest Jewish campus organization. The documents and timeline below illustrate ninety years of Hillel’s growth and evolution.

Hillel Timeline

1920's

Hillel began with
humble means, a noble mission
and a breathtaking vision: to
convey Jewish civilization to a
new generation. Upon graduating from rabbinical school in 1923, Rabbi Benjamin Frankel accepted a part-time pulpit with the Champaign congregation, under the condition that he could continue to work with college students. Fundraising efforts began to turn Frankel’s part-time program into a full-time organization.

1924
Norman De Nosaquo, a Jewish student at the University of Wisconsin, writes a letter to the editor praising the creation of Hillel at the University of Illinois and arguing for the creation of a similar group at the University of Wisconsin. A few months later, Hillel at the University of Wisconsin, Madison was born.

"[T]he charge is leveled that… university training makes of the Jewish student a one-sided intellectualist or materialist. If Jewish boys and girls are to be kept out of this danger, they must be given the opportunity to cultivate those aspects of their life which are now neglected, which the school by its very nature cannot, and for which the social environment does not give adequate facilities."

1925
B'nai B'rith President Adolf Kraus notes, "I believe that foundations such as those now existing at the University of Illinois and at the University of Wisconsin should be extended into all universities and schools for higher education, in which suitable provision is not made for Jewish students, to encourage the cultivation of their Judaism."

1945Hillel Brochure, 1945 (PDF file) - Packed with photos, this 1945 brochure assesses Hillel's accomplishments and future. It notes that Hillel "operates on the principle that the patterns of Jewish life are important in the composite of western civilization, and that the university is enriched when it supplements the resources of the campus with the best in the Jewish tradition."

1948
Pictured: Hillel holds third summer institute conference for students and professionals.

1960's

In the 1960s, Hillel directors, working alone or with one staff member, were deluged by waves of Baby Boomers. Campuses that once hosted small Jewish populations became viable Jewish communities in need of Hillel Foundations.

1963
Pictured: In December 1963, while participating in the annual Directors Meeting, Hillel professionals pay tribute to President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.

1970's

1973Pictured: Students study a portion of the Talmud following Shabbat services in the early 1970s.

In a reprint from the June 1973 National Jewish Monthly, Hillel pioneer Abram Sachar discusses the early history of the organization, a Hillel director discusses the professional’s role, a former student describes his engagement by a Hillel director, and Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Alfred Jospe assesses contemporary students. The National Jewish Monthly (1973) (PDF file)

1974 The Test of Time (PDF file) - Hillel marks its 50th anniversary with this compendium of essays from prominent Hillel professionals and academics on a wide range of topics relating to Hillel’s past, present and future. Writers include Abram Sachar, Marvin Fox and Philip. M. Klutznick.

1980's

Pictured: As part of a 1988 initiative to free Soviet Jewry, newly
appointed Hillel International Director Richard M. Joel (left) and
Associate International Director Rabbi William Rudolph (center)
facilitate a call between former refuseniks and their families in the
Soviet Union.

Admission barriers to Jews dropped in the postwar decades, and the sheer scope of the challenge to serve Jews on campus grew beyond the capacity of B'nai B’rith. It has been estimated that 80 percent of all Jewish college students are located at 109 universities with Jewish student populations greater than 1,000, and that hundreds more campuses attract smaller Jewish student bodies. Even at its apogee of strength, B'nai B’rith could not reach all these students, and in the 1980s, the parent organization was forced to cut its financial allocations to Hillel by 50 percent.

1990's

During the 1990s, Hillel splits from B'nai B’rith, renaming itself Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, and rebounds with unprecedented vigor. By the late 1990s, Hillel encompasses 120 foundations and affiliates at an additional 400 campuses.

1994
In 1994, renowned Jewish leader Edgar M. Bronfman (pictured), chairman of the board of the Seagram Corporation and chair of the World Jewish Congress, becomes chair of the Hillel International Board of Governors.

1998
Under the energetic leadership of Richard Joel, Hillel wins support from major Jewish family foundations and local federations of Jewish philanthropy, both to build impressive new facilities and to underwrite new ventures. Its "Campaign for a Jewish Renaissance" raised $37.5 million in 1998 alone.

1999Taglit-Birthright Israel sends the first group of students to Israel on a free 10-day trip to strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to the state of Israel.

2000's

2002
Thousands of Hillel students pledge their solidarity with Israel on April 15, 2002 in Washington D.C., at the largest rally of its kind in the Capital’s history.
2003University of North Carolina Hillel students protest social injustices in Darfur, Sudan.

2004
Since September 2004, Hillel drives have added over 4,600 new donors to the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry.

2005
Hillel students at the Claremont Colleges learn to make, braid, and bake challah bread, giving rise to the Challah for Hunger program.

2008
Participating in Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break, students help rebuild in neighborhoods devastated by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and further damaged by the 2008 hurricane season.

2009Gallaudet Hillel Director Paula Tucker (left) and student Carrie St. Cyr present Vice President Joe Biden with a Hillel t-shirt at a Rosh Hashanah reception hosted at his residence in Washington, D.C.